NLS Press Release

Major Plans for Library Service to Blind Canadians

Canadian National Librarian Roch Carrier announced major
plans to develop new and improved services to 3.1 million blind, visually impaired,
and print-handicapped Canadians, at a reception and dinner held in his honor
at the Library of Congress on August 15, 2001, in conjunction with the International
Federation of Library Associations' Section of Libraries for the Blind Pre-conference
2001.

Speaking to an international audience of leaders and directors of blind organizations,
Carrier spelled out his efforts to develop plans "to
serve this group of Canadians that has not been represented in the program of
the National Library of Canada." Carrier became
Canada's fourth National Librarian on October 1, 1999.

Carrier was introduced by Frank Kurt Cylke, director
of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library
of Congress, host for the dinner held in the Thomas Jefferson Building. In his
introduction, Cylke noted one of Carrier's more famous
books, The Hockey Sweater, first published in 1979, and asked if
Carrier might read his well- known children's book to
the audience, each of whom received a copy. "[The Hockey Sweater]
documents a Canadian boy's upbringing, education, and growing sense of cultural
alienation from his community," according to Contemporary Literary Criticism.
The book is described as "an illustrated story for primary graders, [and]
exhibits Carrier's characteristic political overtones on such topics as French
Canadian nationalism and the English-French language barrier." In the story,
"a disastrous boyhood episode is fondly recreated," according to one
reviewer. Growing up in rural Quebec, young Roch
and all of his friends idolize the beloved Montreal Canadiens.
Roch is understandably mortified when his mother presents
him with a new jersey that of the hated rival Toronto Maple Leafs. To make matters
worse, Roch is expected to wear the dreaded blue-and-white
in public. "The Hockey Sweater is a funny story," asserted
School Library Journal contributor Joan McGrath, "but it is
the fun of an adult looking indulgently back to remember a horrible childhood
humiliation from the tranquil plateau of adulthood."

Carrier provided an anecdote-filled rendition of The
Hockey Sweater. In setting the scene, Carrier
said, "The story took place a long time ago [in] Quebec.
A very small town...there were less than 2,000 people living there, all white
and Roman Catholic." Especially interesting was an anecdote about the Montreal
Canadien's star player, Maurice "Rocket"
Richard. Carrier interrupted his
narration when he read about his team all wearing number nine on our backs Rocket
Richard's number. Carrier said, "At the beginning
of his career, Richard was number fifteen, and one day
this very shy, non-talkative man went to see his boss, Frank Selke, and said
'Boss, no more fifteen, I want nine.' 'How come?' Selke asked. 'I want nine
because last night I got a daughter...nine pounds...so I want nine!'"

After reading The Hockey Sweater, Carrier
elaborated on his plans to develop library services for the blind in Canada.
He noted that after first becoming national librarian, he developed a national
task force report in concert with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
(CNIB) and its executive director Euclid Herie. "With less than $20,000
shared equally by CNIB and the National Library a national survey demonstrated
the need for the National Library to make accessibility a major program."
Carrier noted that a major finding of the task force
was that "3.1 million Canadians cannot read conventional print as a result
of a visual, physical, or learning disability; they do not have equitable and
free access to technology and information; their trainers don't have the training;
Canada relies heavily on the Library of Congress and Recording for the Blind
and Dyslexic in the United States; language materials other than English are
scarce; timeliness of information is a problem; Canada has a number of programs,
but it seems they are not well coordinated and they lack funding; and Canadians
want to be served locally." In summing up the task force report, Carrier
said, "Perhaps it's not great news to you, but to us it was very well articulated.
We had a document that we could go with and talk with to a number of people
who we wish to become our partners." He said he distributed the task force
report to the media, the medical profession, the government and its various
offices, as well as industries in Canada.

As a result of the task-force effort with CNIB, Carrier
said he created a national council on access "made from a number of people
including publishers, consumer groups, of course...people with print handicaps,
non-profit organizations, and the private sector. We created a group who will
advise us on what to do. This national council now has a work plan. The most
urgent issues include:

Updating the National Library's union catalog and maximizing of interlibrary
loan and document delivery in multiple formats

Providing appropriate assistive technology training on the technologies
for users

Making government publications available in multiple formats, concurrent
with print, including e-texts and web sites

Providing resources to support Canadian publishers and alternate-format
producers in using master files to create multiple formats in a timely and
affordable fashion

Establishing federal appropriations to increase the volume of materials
available to Canadians with print disabilities.

Carrier noted, "These national council recommendations
are now part to the National Library of Canada's Strategic Plan... My next step
is to present this plan to the Prime Minister and the Canadian government."

Cylke presented Carrier with a Library of Congress Bicentennial
paperweight. A brief discussion with the audience on strategies of libraries
for the blind and physically handicapped around the world followed. A lively
conversation about the new age of digital talking books captivated guests from
the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany,
Russia, and the United States. A commemorative dinner program booklet featuring
Carrier's career highlights was distributed, and Carrier
held a book-signing of The Hockey Sweater at the close of the evening's
festivities.

An internationally acclaimed writer and author, Carrier
is well known for several novels that are considered classics and are used in
schools and universities around the world, in both French and English. Some
have been translated into other languages. His plays have been produced both
in Canada and abroad. He has also written screenplays, including Le
martien de Noël and Le chandail.

Roch Carrier was born in Sainte-Justine,
Quebec, on May 13, 1937. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the
Université Saint-Louis in Edmundston, New Brunswick,
a master of arts degree from the Université de Montréal,
and a doctorat ès lettres degres from the Université
de Paris.

In 1964, he joined the French Department of the Collège
militaire royal de Saint-Jean (CMR), where he
taught literature until 1970. In search of new challenges, he continued his
teaching career at the Université de Montreal
through 1971. He was appointed secretary general of the Théâtre
du Nouveau Monde in 1971. He returned to CMR as
director of the French Department (1973-1980) and was coordinator of the undergraduate
program in Canadian studies.

In 1986, he became dean of the Faculty of Administration and Humanities. In
August 1989, he was named acting rector, and in March 1990, he was appointed
rector. From 1994 to 1997, he was director of the Canada Council for the Arts.
He traveled, studied, and wrote before becoming Canada's National Librarian
in October 1999.